Recap Of Four Thrilling Motos At 2018 Hangtown Motocross

Austin Forkner aced the start on his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki and led the field through the sweeping first turn, but his time at the front was cut short by Justin Cooper. The Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star/Yamaha Factory Racing rider made a pass on Forkner within the first moments of the moto and sped off with the top spot. Although Cooper is relatively early in his career, he kept calm and in control while ahead of the pack.

Behind Cooper the roster of riders settled into the running order, as Forkner, GEICO Honda's Jeremy Martin, Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna's Zach Osborne, and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Joey Savatgy filled out the top five. Martin made a move on Forkner to take second place on the second lap, but Osborne got by both soon after and took over the spot. Once into second place, Osborne set off after Cooper and reeled him in.

Things got interesting ten minutes into the moto, as Zach Osborne made the move on Cooper and sped off with the lead. Within moments of the lead swap, Martin tipped over and allowed Forkner by, which dropped Martin from third to fourth place. As Osborne pulled clear with the lead, the others in the pack continued their battle. Forkner eventually caught and passed Cooper for second, who then slowed his pace and slipped down the running order.

The final laps had plenty of action, as Martin regrouped after his early issue and passed Forkner for second place. Forkner then tipped over on his own in a turn, which let Aaron Plessinger pass by for third place. But up front, Osborne had the moto and won by just over five seconds.

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450 Moto One

Christian Craig claimed the holeshot on his Team Honda HRC over Jason Anderson, Ken Roczen, and Justin Barcia. The first laps were a flurry of passes, as Marvin Musquin moved up the running order and into third on his Red Bull KTM, while Anderson quickly pushed his way to first on his Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna. While this group figured out the flow, Monster Energy Kawasaki's Eli Tomac pushed from outside the top-five to third with a series of fast passes.

Nine minutes into the moto both Musquin and Tomac made moves on Anderson, which put the two rivals at the front with a clear track. Musquin controlled things initially, but a small mistake up the face of one jump shot him off of the track and allowed Tomac the chance to take over. This was all that the defending champion needed, as he sped off to win by thirteen seconds.

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250 Moto Two

Jeremy Martin and Aaron Plessinger swapped the lead multiple times in the opening lap, as Martin nabbed the holeshot, Plessinger made a pass within a few turns, and Martin countered again. Plessinger experienced issues in the early moments of the moto, which allowed Zach Osborne and Alex Martin to get by. Once into second, Osborne chipped away at the gap that Martin had built in the early moments of the moto and nine minutes into the race, Osborne made the deciding pass for the top spot. The sweep of the day gave Osborne the overall, while Martin's 2-2 scores gave him second overall and Plessinger's 3-4 scores put him third overall.

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450 Moto Two

Three riders led the first lap of the day's final moto, as Jason Anderson claimed the holeshot, Phil Nicoletti made a pass to take the spot three turns into the race, and Justin Barcia made his own pass halfway through to take control. Anderson eventually made a pass on Barcia and built a small cushion over the others. While those three duked it up front, a number of riders were working their way up the running order. Mediocre starts put Marvin Musquin and Eli Tomac outside the top-ten on the first lap, but the two wasted no time getting by competitors and soon were in a fight for the top spots. While in pursuit of Musquin, Tomac pushed the front-end in a soft turn and tipped over, but remounted quickly and was back on Musquin within a matter of moments. With the pace that Musquin and Tomac ran, they soon caught and passed Anderson for the lead, then went at it with each other for the overall-deciding spot. Musquin managed to keep Tomac at bay with crafty line choices, but Tomac took over the lead with a fast pass in the pipe section. This was the final pass for the lead, as Tomac took off and claimed the moto win.